01 June 2015

City Inside Out, Phase Two: Stories

Now open at LEA20, home to City Inside Out by Haveit Neox, is a new facet of the sim, Phase Two: Stories, which focuses the artwork more clearly on the plight of the world's homeless. As previously reported here back on March 28, the City Inside Out already included winding underground passageways, some of which opened into larger spaces, but now a new element has been added: the artist invited Second Life residents to contribute personal short stories about the homeless, and these are now arranged in six "chapters" on small panels hanging throughout the tunnels. "I talked to this one gleeful old woman standing on the pavement while people avoided her, and she laughed, told me she was a 'Lady of the World' and nobody was going to shut her up inside walls where she couldn't hear the sky sing," says December Grey in part of her story. Fay Bishop begins, "Everyone thinks they know his story, everyone recognizes him. He was once a promising law student who got into drugs in grad school. The chemicals damaged him to such an extent, he can't stand to be indoors. He walks our streets, carrying a baseball bat because the cops told him that he couldn't carry a sword (he used to carry a decorative Katana)."

Visitors will receive a map to help guide their travels through the six chapters. As of the opening this past weekend, the following residents had contributed materials: Chapter 1: Betony Greggan, Hypatia Pickens; Chapter 2: December Grey, Medora Chevalier, Persephone Emerald, Shantal Zhora; Chapter 3: Akiko Aki, Eupalinos Ugajin (who contributed an image), Lapopo; Chapter 4: December Grey, Nox Solitaire, Terra Tepper; Chapter 5: Bloduedd Athena, Fay Bishop, TheCuttyWren; Chapter 6: ApollosDaphne, Bamboo Barnes, Bloduedd Athena, Judy Muircastle, Lilia Artis, Marea2007 Praga. "The stories are like the lifeblood of the exhibit," Haveit told me, explaining that he welcomes additional contributions and will add them to the installation up until around June 25. City Inside Out remains on display through June 30.